Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Most Fairfax County government workers vaccinated against COVID-19 with mandate now in effect

Published October 12, 2021 at 2:00PM | Updated October 12, 2021 at 2:34PM

(Updated at 2:35 p.m.) Fairfax County government workers must now show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing. The vast majority have chosen the former option, the county says.

The county’s policy officially took effect yesterday (Monday).

News

EXCLUSIVE: Courthouse video seems to contradict sheriff’s office report criticizing Fairfax County prosecutors

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 8, 2021 at 9:30AM

Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano (left) and Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Kyle Manikas (right) after going through a courthouse security screening (courtesy Fairfax County Sheriff's Office)

Video of an encounter between Fairfax County’s top prosecutor and security personnel at the county courthouse does not appear to be consistent with some of the allegations leveled in a Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office incident report.

The report claims Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and a colleague lost their tempers during a courthouse security screening. According to the Sept. 30 report, Descano and Chief Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Kyle Manikas questioned and cursed at security officers when directed to go through a metal detector upon entering the Fairfax County Courthouse at 9:37 a.m. on Sept. 28.

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Inova temporarily closes urgent care centers in Reston and Tysons due to high patient volume

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 7, 2021 at 11:00AM | Updated October 7, 2021 at 9:30PM

Inova has temporarily closed four of its urgent care centers, including ones in Reston (1488 Northpoint Village Center) and Tysons (8357 Leesburg Pike), to manage an influx of patients without overwhelming exhausted staff.

Inova told FFXnow that it has consolidated staff from the shuttered urgent care centers at other sites “to better accommodate patient volume.” The other centers that have been closed are in Arlington, as reported by ARLnow, and Purcellville.

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Fairfax Health District has reported over 90,000 COVID-19 cases

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 4, 2021 at 2:00PM

An illustration of a coronavirus (via CDC/Unsplash)

With the addition of 136 cases today (Monday), the Fairfax Health District has reported a total of 90,010 COVID-19 infections since identifying its first positive case nearly 20 months ago.

Case levels in the district, which includes Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, have stayed consistent for more than a month now after surging in August due to the spread of the especially contagious Delta variant.

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COVID cases hold steady as Fairfax County prepares for booster shots

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 27, 2021 at 2:00PM | Updated September 27, 2021 at 3:20PM

An illustration of a coronavirus (via CDC/Unsplash)

Updated at 3:20 p.m. — Booster shots of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be available for those who are eligible in Fairfax County starting tomorrow (Tuesday), the Fairfax County Health Department announced this afternoon.

Earlier: After seeing COVID-19 cases climb throughout August, Fairfax County seems to be finishing September at a plateau in the Delta variant-driven surge that has refilled hospitals in many parts of the country.

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FCPS seeks to put new trial for sexual assault lawsuit on hold, potentially setting up Supreme Court appeal

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 23, 2021 at 9:30AM

Sign for Fairfax County Public Schools outside the Gatehouse Administration Center (file photo)

Fairfax County Public Schools has asked a federal appeals court to postpone an ordered retrial of a former Oakton High School student’s sexual assault lawsuit, setting up a possible escalation of the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The school system plans to file a petition for a writ of certiorari requesting that the Supreme Court take up the case, according to Public Justice, the nonprofit legal organization that represents the student, who has only been identified as Jane Doe.

News

Over 80 percent of adults in Fairfax County have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine shot

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 20, 2021 at 2:00PM

Fairfax County nurse holds a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

More than four-fifths of adults in the Fairfax Health District have gotten at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, a hard-won milestone achieved after a summer of slowing demand and the arrival of the contagious Delta variant.

According to its vaccine data dashboard, which also includes information from the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, the Fairfax County Health Department has now administered more than 1.5 million vaccine doses since it received its first shipment on Dec. 23, 2020.

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Fairfax County salutes soldier killed during Afghanistan evacuation

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 17, 2021 at 11:30AM

A police motorcade drives down I-66 East with the hearse for Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, one of 13 U.S. military servicemembers killed in the Aug. 26 Kabul airport bombing (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

It took approximately half an hour for the police motorcade escorting the body of Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss to travel the 20-mile stretch of I-66 from Gainesville to the I-495 interchange in Merrifield.

Along the way, the procession encountered dozens of Fairfax County police officers, firefighters, and residents who gathered on and under overpasses yesterday (Friday) afternoon to honor Knauss, one of 13 American servicemembers killed in the Aug. 26 bombing at Kabul’s airport during the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

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JUST IN: Flash Flood Watch issued for Fairfax County into this evening

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 16, 2021 at 3:00PM | Updated September 16, 2021 at 3:29PM

Raindrops in puddles (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Updated at 3:30 p.m. — The National Weather Service has now issued an Areal Flood Warning until 9:30 p.m. for central Fairfax County, with Reston, Vienna, Falls Church, Annandale, and Springfield among the locations that could experience flooding. Between 1 and 1.5 inches of rain have already fallen with an additional 1 to 2 inches possible.

Earlier: After a couple of relatively dry weeks, the weather in Fairfax County is about to take a turn for the rainy today (Thursday).

News

Redistricting committee races to map future Fairfax County as public input deadline looms

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 16, 2021 at 9:30AM

Redistricting Advisory Committee Providence District representative Linda Smyth discusses her proposed map for Fairfax County's magisterial districts (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

In a meeting room that more resembles a college classroom than the stateliness of the board auditorium just two floors down, 20 volunteers are redrawing the lines that divide and define Fairfax County.

Appointed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on June 22, the 2021 Redistricting Advisory Committee (RAC) has been meeting regularly since late July, but members got their first opportunity on Monday (Sept. 13) to present the district maps they’ve created to determine the county’s leaders for the next decade.